


Roommates

by AmaranthPrincess21



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, F/M, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-25
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-03-25 15:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3815893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmaranthPrincess21/pseuds/AmaranthPrincess21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After weeks of looking for a new apartment, you've finally found a good place to stay. But you get a little more than you bargained for when one of your roommates turns out to be a total cutie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was a commission from DA user moa-mason

“So then I had this group come into work dressed as all of the Sailor Scouts and I’ve never met people who were more picky about their frappuccinos before. They were all ordering secret menu stuff which I mean, I’ve studied it enough to not have a problem with it but Jean had no idea what to do so I had to walk him through it and you know how Eren gets when you have to explain things to him,” Marco said with a sigh as the two of you lounged around his apartment.

“Ugh, that secret menu shit will be the death of me,” you muttered, eyes glued to your laptop screen. “You’re a saint for memorizing that crap.”

“Hey, it just makes everything easier for me,” he shrugged. “How’s the apartment search going?” You sighed and gave him a small shrug. 

“It could be better. Either everything is out of my price range or it’s too far away from campus and work,” you told him. 

“Have you at least found a few options?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“I found two. One sounds like it’s a fuckboy palace and the other one sounds like it’s a serial killer,” you said, motioning for him to scoot closer to you. He moved right next to you and looked at the screen. “But I did find these on Craigslist, so I guess that’s kind of expected.”

“Try looking more towards the shopping center near Starbucks. Maybe that’ll give you more options,” he suggested. You nodded, fingers flying across your keyboard as you put in another search. A few options came up, and you found one that didn’t look too bad.  _The rent’s not that bad and the place looks pretty nice,_ you thought.

  
  


Rent is $530 a month, plus another $40 for utilities.

We are currently looking for a new roommate since our old one moved out. We’re located right behind the University Shopping Center in a three bedroom, 2 bath apartment. If you’re okay with illegally keeping your pet, then pets are allowed. 

We both are full-time students and we have two jobs each so we’re not always there, so you’ll probably not see us all that much. We are okay with anyone of any gender, but since we know that sometimes people need to know the gender of their future roommates, just to be clear we are two guys. 

Please contact if interested. We need a roommate fast and we’re pretty accommodating. 

  


“This one looks decent, but I don’t know how I feel about rooming with two guys I don’t know and it’s at the top of my budget,” you pointed out, showing Marco the screen.

“Wait, what’s their address?” he asked after reading the ad. 

“Uh, it’s four-twenty Ackerman Boulevard,” you replied. “That’s an unfortunate address.” 

“Hey, I know those guys!” Marco piped up, a smile spreading across his face. “I didn’t know that Annie had moved out already. But yeah, I know them and they’re really cool, [First]. You should go for it!” 

“How come this Annie moved out?” you asked.

“She got accepted in a foreign exchange program. I thought she wasn’t leaving until  December, though,” he added with a frown, but he quickly shook it off. “The guys, Reiner and Bertolt, you’d like them. I can call them and tell them you’re interested, if you want.”

“You’d do that?” 

“Yeah, of course! I already have their numbers and it’s no trouble at all.” He pulled out his phone and dialed them.

“Hey Reiner, it’s Marco! Listen I have a friend that’s interested in rooming with you and Bertl,” he said after a few moments of silence. You could hear a deep voice from the other end, but you couldn’t make out any words. “Yeah, her name is [First]. She’s really nice, you and Bertolt would get along with her.” More talking from Reiner. “Oh! I, uh, yeah, I think we could. Hold on.” He covered the receiver with his hand and turned to you. “[First], are you willing to go over there today and see if this’ll work out?”  _Today? That’s really quick,_ you thought, feeling nerves creep into your stomach. 

“I’m ready,” you replied, trying to put on a brave face.  _The sooner you get this done, the better,_ you told yourself as Marco went back to talking with Reiner.

“Yeah, we can come over. When are you guys available?” Marco asked. Reiner’s muffled voice filtered through the phone. “I have work at four. Maybe we can meet at two? Would that work?” Reiner responded. “Great! We’ll be there at two!”  _Two? That’s only an hour away,_ you thought.  _No, I have to do this. I’m don’t wanna sleep on Marco’s couch anymore. And the sooner I meet them, the sooner I can get over these nerves._

  


The drive to Reiner and Bertolt’s apartment was quiet. Marco had the radio on and you had your window down, letting the wind play with your hair. You’d probably regret it once you got to the apartment but for now you enjoyed the cool breeze flowing through your hair. Despite the fact it was September, it was still hot outside and the only relief came from the cool breezes.  _That’s Trost for you,_ you thought with a wry grin. 

“So Bertolt, the other guy you might be rooming with, he’s at work right now but he should be back during our tour,” Marco explained as he turned into a large apartment complex. It was right behind the shopping center you worked in and incredibly close to campus. You could walk or bike to school everyday with ease.  _This looks promising,_ you thought.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” you murmured. The buildings looked like old Victorians, like dull and monotone versions of the painted ladies in San Francisco.  _Maybe they all were painted ladies at some point before they got converted,_ you wondered. “Marco, what’s the history of this complex?” 

“No idea. I don’t think it’s that old, though. I think it’s just supposed to fit in with the painted ladies. I mean San Francisco is too expensive but people want that aesthetic. We  _are_ Bay Area, after all.” He pulled into a spot next to a fancy-looking motorcycle. “Just as a heads up, Reiner can be a little . . . exuberant. But if you say you’re uncomfortable, he’ll stop immediately.”

“O-okay,” you said. Your stomach was knotting itself up as you and Marco stepped out of his car. The three-story building he parked in front of looked big but it was clearly split into three separate homes. “This place looks kind tiny.”

“It’s not as small as it looks,” Marco reassured you as you went up the porch stairs. “It’s pretty roomy actually, for the price and the narrowness.” He led you to the leftmost door and knocked on it. A man yelled from the other side but you couldn’t hear exactly what he said. In seconds the door opened and a burly young man opened the door.

“Hey, Marco!” the guy said, pulling Marco into a hug. “How’re you doing?”

“Great! And you?” he asked.

“Doing fine. I take it this is [First]?” the man asked, gesturing to you. You cleared your throat and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m [First],” you said quietly, holding your hand out for the man to shake. He grinned at you and sandwiched your hands between his as he shook your hand. 

“It’s great to meet you, [First]! I’m Reiner,” he said. 

“Great to meet you too,” you replied. 

“Come on in, guys. Bert should be back any minute, but we can get started,” he said, letting you and Marco inside. The apartment seemed a lot more spacious on the inside, but you still couldn’t help but feel it was a bit tiny, at least width-wise. The living room wasn’t anything special but the kitchen looked really nice. “So here’s our living room, right behind this is the kitchen. We don’t have a formal eating area, we just eat wherever,” Reiner explained. “Behind the kitchen is a bathroom. Over in this corner is our staircase.” He gestured for Marco and you to follow him up the spiral staircase just left of the door, almost tucked away in a corner.

“How’re you liking it?” Marco whispered in your ear as you all traipsed up the spiral staircase. The stairwell was rather unsettling, if you were being honest with yourself. There were windows and it was very bright, but it felt like you were walking up a tube rather than a staircase. 

“I like it,” you told him. 

“All right, so here’s the second floor. It’s the room you’d be taking if you move in with us,” Reiner replied, stopping on a tiny landing. A curved wooden wall seemed to be in front of him. He grabbed a handle and slid the door to the side and walked into a large empty space. _Wow, this is_ really _nice,_ you thought, looking at the large window to your left. It looked out onto a pool and what you assumed to be a small meeting hall, or something. 

“This used to be the master bedroom, so you have your own bathroom and a walk-in closet,” Reiner said as you wandered around the space. The wooden floor below your feet softly creaked as you walked towards two doors near the back of the room. Marco and Reiner’s voices floated through the room but you ignored them.  _This is a really nice room. I basically have an entire floor to myself,_ you thought, opening a door and walking in. The bathroom was simple but very clean. Another door lead you into a fairly nice closet.  _I can see myself living here. It’s nice, pretty big for a bedroom, not to mention I get my own bathroom._

“So Annie’s already in Barcelona?” Marco was asking Reiner as you walked back into the main room. 

“Yeah, she left a few weeks ago. I’m surprised she didn’t tell you,” Reiner replied.

“I was in Jinae over the summer. It’s not like she could’ve contacted me,” Marco shrugged. The two men realized you were done walking around and their focus shifted to you. 

“So, how do you like it?” Reiner asked you. 

“I really like it,” you replied sincerely. 

“If you want it, it’s yours,” he offered. You gave him a small grin and nodded.

“Yeah, I’d like to move in,” you told him. Marco squeezed your shoulder and Reiner gave you a large smile.

“Fantastic! I’ll go let the landlord know we found another roommate and we’ll get all the paperwork signed and stuff.”

“Am I interrupting something?” You all turned towards the door. A very tall, very cute boy stood in the doorway. He was dressed in all black in clothes that extended his frame; he looked positively  _giant._ Reiner grinned at him and motioned for him to enter the room.

“We got ourselves a roommate, Bertl!” he exclaimed.  _So, this must be Bertolt._ He edged into the room, politely offering you his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Bertolt,” he introduced himself. 

“Nice to meet you too. I’m [First],” you told him.  _Rooming with two attractive guys. I guess it could be worse._

After a few days the paperwork was finalized and you were ready to move into Reiner and Bertolt’s place. You weren’t entirely sure how you were going to get all of your furniture up the small staircase, but with Marco by your side, you were sure you’d be fine. 

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon when you started moving your things out of storage and into your new home. Jean had been nice enough to lend you and Marco for his truck and the two of you put it to good use. Reiner and Bertolt were both home when you and Marco showed up and they were nice enough to help you move in. 

“Do you want us to place these anywhere special?” Reiner asked as he grabbed part of your desk. 

“No, just put them wherever you can find room, please,” you instructed him, making him smirk. 

“I don’t think that’ll be an issue,” he said before heading up the stairs. You wandered over to the truck and grabbed for a box of your clothing. Bertolt reached out and your hands brushed against each other. 

“I’m sorry!” he apologized, quickly drawing his hands back as if he’d been burned.

“Oh no, it’s fine,” you said, grabbing the box. “If you could grab my shoe box, though, I’d appreciate it.”

“Yeah, of course.” He followed you into the house and up into your new bedroom. Marco sat on the ground, rebuilding your disassembled desk.

“Marco, you don’t have to do that!” you exclaimed.

“I got it, don’t worry,” he waved away your concern. “I’ll be fine.” You bit your lip but nodded, continuing on to the closet, dumping your box in there to be sorted out later. “You know, [First], Bertolt goes to UC Trost too.”

“Really?” you asked, turning back to Bertolt. 

“Y-yeah, I just started my third year,” he replied. 

“That’s cool. I just started my second,” you said. “What are you majoring in?”

“English, minor in drama. What’s yours?”

“[Major]. But that’s cool, doing drama! Have you been acting long, or?”

“Not really. I’m more interested in the technical aspects. I did crew for shows during high school but I haven’t done much acting,” he explained.

“Actually, Bertl’s had a ton of acting experience in porn. He’s kind of a big deal in the industry,” Reiner piped up. A string of nonsensical words stuttered out of Bertolt’s mouth, his cheeks turning a bright red color.  A few giggles poured out of your mouth at his mortified expression.

“I am not Reiner! I-I, I haven’t done porn, I swear. Reiner just thinks his horrible jokes are funny,” he added hurriedly to you. 

“Yeah, rule number one of knowing Reiner is disregarding everything that comes out of his mouth,” Marco told you with a short chuckle. 

“Aw come on guys. Everything that comes out of my mouth is comedy gold,” Reiner defended himself.

“Well, I’ve gotta admit, you saying you’re funny is a great joke,” Marco replied. You laughed harder, doubling over your box of T-shirts. Reiner rolled his eyes.

“Y’know, if you guys are going to make fun of the coolest person here, I’m just going to leave,” he said as he headed towards the door. 

“Don’t mind him. He’s just got a very particular sense of humor,” Bertolt told you.

“No worries. It’s kind of funny, actually,” you admitted. “So, uh, yeah. Doing crew is really cool. Do you want to do that professionally, or?”

“I’d like to, if I can find the work. But if not, I’ve got other things to fall back on,” he said. “Eventually I’d like to try out doing Shakespearean shows professionally, but that’s on the back burner, you know?”

“That’d be so much fun! Kind of depressing and confusing, but fun!” you told him. “Old English can get confusing, especially when you have to speak in nothing but it.”

“Actually, Shakespearean sonnets and plays aren’t in old English,” he corrected you. “Old English is more along the lines of  _Beowulf.”_

“Oh, okay. I didn’t know that,” you mused. He did a complete one-eighty, going from confident to freaked out in a matter of seconds.

“I-I’m so sorry! That must’ve come off as really rude and pretentious! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” he apologized

“It’s all good. The more you know, right?” He nervously laughed.

“Yeah, ‘the more you know,’” he nodded. 

Unpacking went quickly with four pairs of hands in terms of getting your boxes out of Marco’s car and into your apartment. But in terms of actually pulling things out of boxes, well, that was another story. You decided it’d be best to just ignore your closet and bathroom for the time being and focus on your bedroom. You’d never had this much space before. Sure, the room was pretty narrow but lengthwise it was a lot of room to fill. The four of you had just managed to squeeze your bed into the little niche next to the staircase when Marco’s phone rang.

“Hello?” he picked it up, giving you all an apologetic look and going downstairs to talk in private. 

“So, how do you know Marco? Is he your boyfriend, or just a friend?” Reiner asked.

“Friends. We’ve known each other since kindergarten and we both work at Starbucks,” you informed him.

“Nice. So you know Jean too?” Reiner inquired.

“Yeah, I know him pretty well. He’s not my favorite person ever, but I know him and we hang out a lot since I lived with Marco. That and Marco and I tend to hang out a lot in the first place. They’re kind of like a buy one get one free package.” Reiner and Bertolt laughed.

“They are though, aren’t they?” Reiner chuckled. “I met Marco through Jean. I work with him, actually.”

“Oh, at the pizza place near the mall?” 

“No, the other place.”

“The strip club?”

“Bingo.”

“Huh, I didn’t have you pegged down as the kind of guy that would be into that. But hey, whatever floats your boat,” you shrugged as  you got on your bed to hook up the small chandelier to the ceiling. “I would’ve thought you’d do personal training at a gym, or something.”

“They don’t hire college guys. They think we have too much testosterone. Which is probably accurate but it sucks. So I have to work at the strip club. If you wanted, I could show you a few moves,” he said with a wink.

“As tempting as that sounds, I think I’m going to pass,” you deadpanned. 

“Suit yourself,” Reiner shrugged. His gold eyes glanced over to Bertolt. “You know, Bert actually works there too.”

“This time he’s not  completely lying. I do lighting for them. It’s good practice. Awkward practice, but still decent,” he said, making you chuckle. 

“I can imagine,” you commented. Marco poked his head into your bedroom, a worried look on his face.

“My mom’s car is dead and she needs someone to take her to her Zumba class. I’ll be back in an hour or two. I’m sorry to leave so soon,” he explained.

“Don’t worry about it, Marco,” you reassured him. “Go take your mom to her class and tell her I say hi. And thanks again for helping me move all of my stuff over here.”

“Anytime, [First]. I’ll see you guys later.” You all waved goodbye to him as he left the house. Part of you didn’t want him to leave. _What am I going to do now,_ you wondered, nerves starting to rock around in your stomach. _Who’s going to initiate conversations now that Marco’s gone?_

“Are you guys getting hungry? Maybe we should have dinner soon,” Reiner said. 

“I think we have some instant pasta in the pantry,” Bertolt said. “Does pasta sound good to you, [First]?”

“Yeah, it sounds really good,” you replied. 

“If you guys are hungry, I can go start on it,” Reiner offered.

“That’d be great. Thank you,” Bertolt told him and the blond left to get started on dinner. “We generally have dinner early here. Reiner and I have to show up to work at six, so we eat early.”

“You have to show up  _that_ early?”

“Yeah. I have to test-run lights and then the dancers do a dress rehearsal before the club reopens at eight.” You nodded.

“This is probably a dumb question but is it really anything like  _Magic Mike?”_ you asked with a slight chuckle. He found the humor in it and laughed, but gave a small shrug

“I don’t know. Reiner, Jean, and I rented it but we couldn’t get passed the first ten minutes. We thought it was boring,” he admitted with a slight blush on his cheeks.

“I can see that. It certainly is a slow moving film,” you said. 

“Yeah.” The two of you fell silent, only talking when he asked on where to put something.  _What could I talk to him about,_ you wondered, stealing an occasional glance at him.  _We already talked about jobs and majors. What if he’s not into the same things I am? How dumb will I look asking about something and he doesn’t know it or doesn’t like it?_ Minutes passed and finally Reiner’s voice called you and Bertolt down to dinner. 

The savory aroma of cooked pasta and spice-filled sauce wafted through the air. You weren’t that hungry but damn did it smell good. Reiner had already set out of a few bowls and all you had to do was get some water and serve yourself. The bowl you grabbed was white with black cursive writing all around it. As you read it, a sense of familiarity seeped into your veins.  _Wait, I know this._

“Are these song lyrics?” you asked the boys, holding up the bowl.

“Yeah, Bertolt made it at our friend Annie’s birthday party a few years ago,” Reiner answered. 

“You know that band?” Bertolt asked, a note of hope in his voice.

“Hell yeah I do! They’re my favorite band of all time!” you replied.

“Really? They’re mine too!” Enthusiasm made his face light up beautifully. “I went and saw them at the the Reiss Theatre last year.”

“Are you serious?! I tried to get tickets but they sold out so fast! How was it?”

“It was incredible! They do a great live show! Their opening bands were pretty good too, but man, they’re really theatrical. They had a huge set that looked like an abandoned mansion, lots of props. It was really, really cool.”

“I saw Youtube videos of it and it looked like it! I just wish I could’ve gone!” you lamented. 

“They’re going on tour again this summer, aren’t they?” 

“I think so. If they are, I’m definitely going to get tickets and get them early this time.”

“You should. It was kind of expensive, but it was really worth it. What’s your favorite album by them?”

“Their third is the best by far. Which is yours?”

“Their second.” “Their second? Really? They changed their entire sound and feel for that album!” 

“I know, but I felt like it was so unique. It was like Beatles mixed with alternative music.” It was amazing how much Bertolt had to say about your favorite band. He knew so much trivia and told you all about his concert experience. When he opened up, he spoke with a confidence you liked, a confidence that was knowledgeable but friendly. Reiner looked bored the majority of the time, eating his pasta quietly and scrolling through his phone. You had tried to engage him in the conversation, but he said he didn’t listen to that band a whole lot. 

Between the three of you, the pasta went by quickly. Once Reiner was done he put his dishes away and went down to his room to take a nap before he had to go to work. Engrossed in music, you and Bertolt kept talking until you realized you’d spent almost an hour at the table just talking.  _Crap, if I keep talking I won’t be able to finish moving in tonight,_ you realized as you glanced at the clock.

“I’m going to go and unpack the rest of my stuff,” you told them, gesturing back to the staircase. 

“You need any help?” Bertolt asked politely. “I’ve got a few minutes to spare before Reiner and I have to head to work.”

“Nah, I’m good,” you waved away his offer. “Thanks though.”  _Should I tell him bye? Or should I just stay silent,_ you wondered as you put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher and walked up to your bedroom. You shut your bedroom door behind you and sighed. It was still going to take a while for you to get completely settled in the house.  _But at least my roommates are cool. Awkward, but cool,_ you thought as you got to work.  _I think this arrangement is going to work out really, really well._

  



	2. Chapter 2

It was a Saturday night and you were up way too late. It was nearly two am as you sat on the couch, curled up in a blanket and watching Netflix. Reiner and Bertolt were at work, although you figured they’d be home any moment. And as if on cue, the lock jingled and groaned as Reiner opened the door.

“You’re still up?” he asked. 

“Yeah, I’m watching anime on Netflix,” you explained. He smirked as he stripped off his jacket to reveal his thin T-shirt. 

“Anime, huh? So you’re into huge, probably debilitating breasts too?” he joked as he made his way past you. 

“Where’s Bertolt? I like talking to him more than you. He doesn’t flirt with anything with a vagina,” you commented wryly. He laughed. 

“Hey, I flirt with anything that identifies as a human,” he responded from somewhere inside the kitchen. “Pansexuals exist, you know.” 

“Doesn’t that mean you’re sexually attracted to cooking utensils?” you joked. 

“Yeah, pans totally get me off,” he replied sarcastically. “Nah, Bertolt’s still at work. One of the lights broke and he had to stay and fix it. Are we out of ramen?” 

“Is there any in the pantry? I thought we were running low but not _that_ low,” you said. He sighed and shut the door. 

“Damn. I was really looking forward to that too. [First], you wanna make a Denny’s run?” 

“It’s two am.” 

“So?” 

“I, well. Yeah, I could go for some Denny’s right now.” 

“Awesome. I’m gonna go take a quick shower and change. Can you call Bertolt and have him meet us there?” 

“Of course. Is it okay if I invite Marco too? I think he’s getting off work right now.” 

“Sure. I’ll be back.” He went downstairs into his basement bedroom as you dialled Bertolt’s phone. 

“Hey, [First]. What’s up?” he asked, picking up almost immediately. 

“Reiner wants us to go have dinner at Denny’s tonight. We’re out of food again. Can you meet us there and get a table?” you said. 

“You guys might beat me there, actually. I have one more light to fix but I’ll be there as soon as possible.” 

“Okay, see you there, then.” 

“See you.” With a sigh, you hung up. _I really hope Marco’s awake right now,_ you thought as you dialled him. His response wasn’t as immediate as Bertolt’s had been. 

“What are you doing awake right now, [First]?” he yawned. 

“Are you up for a Denny’s run?” you asked. 

“It’s two in the morning. Why do you want to go to Denny’s?” Marco yawned. 

“We’re out of food and Reiner suggested we all go,” she said. “I was hoping you’d come and be my security blanket.” 

“Yeah, sure, I’ll join you guys,” he said, the jingling of keys and the shuffling of papers in the background. “I’m pulling an all-nighter and I need some brain food. You don’t mind if I bring my stuff with me, right? I can still step in when needed. I just want to work while I eat.” 

“No, I don’t mind,” you replied. “You don’t have to come if you really need to work.” 

“It’s nothing pressing, actually. I just want to get all of my homework done so I don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the weekend. Are we going to the one near Reiner and Bertolt’s job, or?” 

“Yeah, that one.” 

“Should I call Jean and see if he wants to come too?” 

“Yeah, go ahead,” you replied. “We’ll be leaving in twenty-ish minutes, once Reiner’s done taking a shower.” 

“Sounds good. I’ll meet you over there.”

“See you there. Bye.” You hung up, feeling somewhat relieved that Marco was coming along with. _You’re not going to be able to drag Marco along to everything,_ a small voice in you head reminded you as you trudged up to your bedroom to get changed. 

_I know that, but every little bit counts,_ you silently replied. _I’m pretty comfy with Bertolt, and Reiner too, I just feel like I need some backup just in case I run out of things to talk about._

_I think we both know that Reiner will come up with something to talk about in case you’re at a loss. That boy never shuts up,_ the small voice said. You chuckled. You went into your closet, quickly pulling some clothes off of the hangers and changing out of your pajamas. 

_I really shouldn’t be so mean. After all they were nice enough to accept me as their roommate. I don’t have room to be snarky._ Grabbing your bags, you headed down to the living room and waited for Reiner to finish cleaning up. 

“So do you want to drive or should I?” Reiner asked as he walked up the stairs from his bedroom in the basement, dressed in fresh clothes and shoving his wallet into his pocket. 

“I’m fine with whatever,” you shrugged. 

“Let’s take my bike. It’s more fuel efficient.” _His bike? We’re gonna go on a motorcycle?_ His bike seemed small compared to him, but then again Reiner was a big guy. The tiny leather seat felt unfamiliar and bizarre to you as you sat down behind him, double-checking that the helmet he’d lent you was on securely. The last thing you needed was a loose helmet when riding on something that didn’t have a lot of safety features. “Hang on,” Reiner said. “The bike doesn’t move until the passenger is secure.” 

“You sound like I’m a package, or something,” you replied, putting your arms around his waist. _Oh man, those are some nice abs,_ you realized, feeling the toned muscles against your arms. 

“I don’t want you falling off. I don’t have seatbelts on this thing so if you don’t hang on you’re not that secure,” he told you. 

“I’m not complaining. I’m just saying that you sound like you’re going to deliver a package to someone, not taking me to Denny’s,” you clarified. 

“Is there any really difference when someone is driving their friends around?” he asked wryly. “We can argue about this later. Let’s get on the road.” With that he turned his bike on and it roared to life, the loud growling of the engine buzzing almost painfully in your ears. Lights blurred past as you and Reiner drove down the quiet city streets. The night air was chilly, especially with the wind slapping at your skin, but it was quick drive to Denny’s and you didn’t have to suffer for long. 

Marco was looking especially tired as he sat on a waiting bench inside the restaurant, homework in his lap and his eyelids drooping from lack of sleep. 

“Oh my God, Marco, you look like you’re going to fall asleep at any moment,” you said, helping him gather up his things as Reiner talked to someone about getting a table. 

“I feel like I will. I haven’t been this tired in months,” he yawned. “Bertolt and Jean are on their way, just to let you know. They told me what to get them in case they don’t get here soon.” 

“Why, are they really going to be that long? We got off work a while ago,” Reiner interjected. He waved for you and Marco to join him, the three of you following a worker down to a cozy booth in the back. 

“There were some complications with the lights and then Bertolt said that Jean was still in the dressing room trying to get glitter off of his arms,” Marco informed you two. 

“I told him glitter glue was a terrible idea!” Reiner cried in exasperation, face palming. “I swear to God, he never listens to anyone!” 

“Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?” you said quietly into your glass of water. Marco laughed so hard he doubled over, only stopping when he saw the dark look Reiner was giving the two of you. 

“I’m not the one who thought putting glitter glue all over himself was a great and clean idea,” he said. 

“No, but it sounds like something you’d do,” Marco pointed out. 

“Are you crazy? I would never do that!” Reiner said, looking aghast at Marco’s suggestion. 

“It’s probably for the best that you don’t.” Jean, arms completely shaved, and Bertolt walked towards the table, looking tired and hungry. “The glue got stuck in my hair and I had to shave.” 

“I told you not to do it!” Reiner scolded him. 

“I know, I know,” Jean replied, slumping into the chair next to you. “I’ll listen to you next time. Hey, [First]. How’s it going?” 

“All right,” you shrugged. “How about you, besides the shaved arms?” 

“Got seventy in tips so pretty good,” he replied with a grin. 

“Yeah, it was a busy night,” Bertolt commented. “I’m just glad to be done with it. I don’t know how you guys survive that kind of crowd.” 

“What, was there a bachelorette party, or something?” you asked. 

“Try _five_ bachelorette parties,” he replied. You winced. _That sounds like a nightmare,_ you thought. _No wonder Reiner looked so tired when he got home._ “Everyone was basically working double duty. It was the busiest we’ve ever been.” 

“So is that why Jean had to put glitter on his arms?” you asked, raising an eyebrow. “Is there some rule that when bachelorettes are in the house that you have to wear glitter?” 

“No, it’s because our boss wanted us to put on a little more makeup and be easier to see from the way back of the club. We’re in an old theatre so sometimes it’s hard for our patrons in the back to see us from the stage,” Jean explained. “Me and a few other guys thought that glitter would help since the light picks up on it, but I thought just sprinkling it one wouldn’t stay well and it’d be messy.” 

“So you put glitter glue on you instead of normal glitter? Jean, that’s literally the worst idea that I’ve ever heard,” you said bluntly. 

“It made sense at the time, all right?!” he defended himself heatedly. 

“What, were you hopped up on meth or something?” It was Reiner’s turn to double over laughing and even Bertolt gave quite a few hearty laughs. He’s got a really cute smile, you thought, giggling along with them. Jean did not look pleased. 

“You guys are assholes,” he muttered before taking a drink of water. The laughter died down. As you took a drink, Bertolt’s eyes caught yours. He gave you a friendly grin before delving into his menu. _Maybe I didn’t need to bring Marco along after all._

  
  


“Okay, Jean, what is one of the main themes of _Heart of Darkness?”_

“That racism is okay, apparently.” Loud groaning came everyone in your small study group. Your English midterm was the next morning and you, your roommates, and a few friends were all crowded into your living room, flashcards in hand and a few copies of the infamous and boring novel _Heart of Darkness_ lying around. 

“Well, I mean way Marlowe describes native Africans during his trip down the Congo is pretty racist,” Krista pointed out from her spot on her girlfriend Ymir’s lap. “He’s not completely wrong.” 

“Yeah but Marlowe describes all of the horrific things happening to them, so he’s exposing the ugly truth of imperialism and that has to mean he’s against the treatment of native Africans,” Marco argued. 

“Why don’t we just move on?” Ymir asked. “We’re going to be here all night if we keep discussing whether some Wonder Bread English soldier from the 1800’s is racist or not.” 

“We might be here all night anyway,” Marco commented, looking down at his watch. “It’s nearly three am.” 

“You guys are welcome to stay over,” Reiner said. “We can all bunker down here for the night.” 

“We’ll take you up on that offer. I’m too tired to drive me and Krista home,” Ymir said, ending her sentence with a yawn. 

“I’ll stay too,” Marco said and Jean nodded that he’d stay as well. 

“Awesome. I’ll go grab some blankets from the hall closet,” you said, getting up. 

“Keep in mind the couples and cuddle buddies,” Reiner called out to you. “Make sure to get an extra warm blanket for you and I.” 

“No can do, casanova,” you laughed, rolling your eyes as you gathered up all the blankets you could possibly hold in your arms. “We aren’t cuddling _ever.”_

“Reiner, don’t you think it’s a little rude to hit on [First]?” You heard Bertolt say from somewhere in the living room. 

“Oh come on, it’s nothing serious, Bertolt. It’s all just a big joke between us,” Reiner said dismissively. “It’s not like we’re actually flirting.” 

“Yeah Bertolt, I don’t mind it,” you replied. You started out handing blankets to everyone in the living room. “It’s just us joking around.” 

“Why, are you jealous?” Jean asked. 

“No, I just thought it might make her uncomfortable,” Bertolt defended himself. You giggled and gently squeezed his shoulder to reassure him everything was fine. 

“It doesn’t. I think it’s funny,” you said. 

“Do we have more pillows? We’re short a few,” Marco asked, looking around for an extra or two. 

“Yeah, I’ll grab some from my room.” Bertolt stood up and started up the staircase. 

“I’ll go help him. There’s no way he can carry them all,” Reiner said, getting up and hurrying after his friend. 

“You know they’re going off to talk about you, right?” Ymir said to you with a smug grin. You groaned, face falling into your hands. 

“I told Bertolt it doesn’t bug me. Usually he listens better,” you lamented.

“He’s very protective of people. One time he ended up in a hospital after saving some girls from a group of creeps,” Krista informed you. “He just doesn’t want anyone creeping on other people.” 

“Oh my God, Krista, are you blind?” Ymir demanded. “Bertolt has a thing for her. It’s painfully obvious.”

“What, you really think so?” you asked eagerly. _Oh shit, I shouldn’t have said anything,_ you realized as Ymir’s face contorted into a devilish grin. 

“You like him too? I wouldn’t be surprised if you did. He’s a great guy. A little sweaty, but a great guy,” Ymir added. “You should go after that dick, to be honest.” Krista looked like she was choking on something as Jean burst out laughing. 

“She’s got a point, albeit it could have been said a little less crudely,” Marco pointed out, brown eyes flitting over to you. “If you like him, there’s no reason to not go for it.”

“I-I don’t really know if I like him!” you cried. “I mean, he’s really nice, and sweet, and shy, and . . . oh _crap.”_

“So are you going to admit it or do we have to put on togas and reenact that one scene from _Hercules?”_ Ymir asked. 

“Why are we reenacting ‘I Won’t Say I’m in Love?’” Reiner asked as he and Bertolt came down the stairs, pillows piled high in their arms. _Oh no, they didn’t hear us talking about Bertolt, did they?!_

“For the Vine,” Jean replied sardonically, arms outstretched for a pillow. Reiner threw one and it hit him square in the face. Krista laughed and grabbing her decorative pillow, hit Marco’s shoulders. You grinned and grabbed a pillow from Bertolt. The pillow fight, and the rest of the night, had just begun. 

  
  


To say there was a giant cuddle pile in the living room was a complete understatement. All of you seemed to be pressed together tightly and there was little room to move around. You could feel Krista’s back firmly against yours and Ymir’s head was on your waist, her body lying over her girlfriend’s. Bertolt’s back was cradled into your front, the steady rise and fall from his breathing matching your own. _OH GOD, HE’S SO CLOSE WE’RE CUDDLING WHAT DO I DO I CAN’T WAKE HIM UP SOMEONE HELP,_ you thought frantically, blood rushing to your face. Looking around, it seemed you were the only one awake. Everyone else was still sound asleep. 

The clock told you that you only had two more hours until your English final. _I can’t sleep any longer. I should start getting ready. If I can get out. Maybe I wiggle out carefully enough, I can get let the others sleep in a little bit longer,_ you mused. You gently lifted Ymir’s head and placed it on Krista’s arm. _So far, so good. Now i just need to get out of this Krista and Bertolt sandwich._ As slowly as humanly possible you sat up, dragging your torso up so you could sit on your hip. Krista didn’t move an inch, happily snoozing away. Bertolt, however, stirred and got up himself. His green eyes caught yours and an apologetic look dawned on his face despite you having woken him up in the first place. 

“I’m sorry!” the two of you whispered in unison. Bertolt nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Are you getting up now?” he asked. 

“Yeah, it’s getting to be time. I’m really sorry I woke you up,” you apologized. The two of you got to your feet and carefully made your way to the kitchen to get started on breakfast. 

“No, it’s okay. I was waking up anyway. I’m sorry I was invading your personal space,” he said. 

“You weren’t, it’s fine,” you waved it away. “Can you get the coffee off of the top shelf?” 

“Yeah, sure.” _This is nice,_ you thought as you pulled various foods out of the fridge and pantry. _I’ll get to have a little private breakfast with him before everyone else wakes up. This will be gr-_

“You guys are already up?! Were you going to wake us up eventually?!” Reiner’s loud voice boomed through the room, causing you and Bertolt to jump and your other friends to wake up. _Well, breakfast for two was a nice thought._

  
  


“What do you mean, you’re working tonight?” you demanded, giving Reiner an incredulous and broken-hearted look from across the dining room table. A month had passed since the large sleepover and from that point on you and your roommates had tried to get together at least a week to hang out. And so far that hadn’t been going well. With busy schedules with work and school you all hadn’t been able to hang out together. Mostly it was just you and Reiner, but tonight Bertolt was off and Reiner had told you he was too, but clearly he had been lying, or something. 

“I calculated what my tuition for next quarter will be and unless I pick up extra hours, I can’t afford it. My financial aid won’t be as great this coming winter,” he lamented. “I’m sorry I have to bail on movie night, but I really need the money.”

“No, it’s fine, I guess. I mean money and paid tuition is good,” you admitted. “I guess some other time then.” 

“Yeah, I’ll try and make room in my schedule next week,” he said, picking up his keys. “Don’t wait up for me. I’ll be home around four.” 

“Okay, see you later.” He left quietly and you locked the door behind him. You let out a small sigh; to say you were disappointed was a bit of an understatement. _I was really hoping we’d all hang out tonight,_ you thought as you went up the stairs to Bertolt’s room. _But I guess we’ll just do that some other time like we always say we’ll do. Although, I guess it could be worse. I could be watching Netflix alone. And I get to spend some quality time with Bertolt, I mean that’s pretty great._ You reached the top of the stairs and knocked on his door. He called for you to enter and you slid the door open and stepped inside. 

It was just as big as your room, but instead of a bathroom it appeared he had a balcony instead. The walls were painted a light brown color and everything looked neat and orderly except for his bedsheets. But then again, he _was_ lying on them. He looked up from his book, green eyes catching yours. 

“So Reiner bailed,” you said bluntly, sitting at the foot of his bed. 

“What?! Why?” Bertolt asked, notes of distress in his voice as he put his novel down. 

“He’s got to get more money so he’s going to work tonight,” you sighed. He slightly nodded. 

“I knew this was going to happen and I don’t know why I counted on him being here. I guess I just thought he’d end up taking extra hours tomorrow night and moving around his schedule,” he said. “So, do you still want to hang out tonight, or . . . ?” 

“No, I do. I just thought I should tell you that Reiner’s not going to be with us.” You stood up and stretched a little. “Do we still want to watch a movie? I’m really game for whatever, but since it’s the two of us we could easily go out and do something if you’re wanting to leave the house.” 

“A movie here sounds just fine,” he said. The two of you made your way down the staircase and back to the living room to pilfer through your collection of movies. It was an old collection of VHS tapes, DVDs, and one or two Blu-Ray discs. Most of the collection were tapes from your childhoods, all favorite movies that had been watched over and over again when growing up and ones too treasured to give up when moving out.

“How about we watch _Space Jam?”_ you joked, pulling out the case. 

“We can’t watch _Space Jam_ without Reiner. He’d kill us if he found out we watched his favorite movie without him,” Bertolt said. 

“Why does he even like _Space Jam_ so much?” you asked, putting aside a few tv show tapes. “Isn’t it aliens, cartoons, and Michael Jordan?” 

“Have you seen _Space Jam?”_

“Maybe?” 

“It’s a work of art,” Bertolt said in a deadpan. You snorted and kept digging. “What about _Hunchback of Notre Dame?”_

“Eh, I’m not really feeling dark movies right now,” he said. “We could watch _Aladdin._ I mean, we only have the sing-along version but it’d still be fun.” 

“You know, that actually sounds really fun. Let’s do it.” While Bertolt got the movie set up you got snuggled on the couch. Once he joined you, you said, “I’m not going to apologize in advance for my terrible singing.” He laughed, pulling some of the blanket off of you and using it to cover his own legs. 

“I’m sure you sound fine,” he said. “But same. I’m not going to apologize for my terrible singing either.” You chuckled as well. And as it turned out, he actually had a very nice singing voice. Granted, it was very soft, but it was nice. It was a kind of voice you’d want to sing you to sleep. And to be honest, it was a good voice for Aladdin, but mostly it was just nice to hear him sing. Watching it with him seemed to make the movie go faster, not to mention it was more fun than usual, between your singing and making silly commentary. 

Although you’d seen the movie before (or maybe, because of this), the movie went by fairly quickly and before you knew it, Aladdin and Jasmine were about to embark on their journey around the world and sing “A Whole New World.” _Oh my God, are we going to do this,_ you wondered, glancing over at Bertolt. _Are we going to have a duet? Where do I look? Do I look at him? Do I look at the screen? What am I going to do? I mean, I want to do this but I don’t want to make it awkward. Oh God, what if I -_

He started singing without missing a beat. His eyes were trained on you and you couldn’t help but giggle a little. _I guess we’re going to go full out on this. Fine by me._

He was expressive as he sang, a huge difference from earlier, as he gestured grandly. It was a long shot from the Bertolt you normally saw. Right now he was anything but shy and introverted. 

There was a spark in his green eyes as you joined in, singing Jasmine’s part. At first, you tried to match his exuberance so he wouldn’t be the odd one out. It was only acting. But as you sang, a sort of airy elation filled your body and soon you were just acting out over the top motions: they came from the heart. Your voices melted together as you sang and your eyes were locked together. Time seemed to stand still and the only thing in the universe was you and him. The song came to end and although your voices had sounded great together before, with the final notes of the song a new sort of harmony, a new kind of intimacy, seemed to be reached as both of your gazes were locked together in an almost loving way. Bertolt’s face was so close to your own, his lips just a breath away. If you really wanted to, you could just reach out and kiss him then and there. _Oh my, we’re close,_ you thought, eyes flitting down to his lips. You could imagine how wonderful they’d feel against your own. _Oh no, no no no no no I can’t be thinking these kinds of things. I can’t make things weird._

“I, uh, that was a good duet,” Bertolt chuckled nervously. He leaned back, rubbing his neck and an anxious look on his face. 

“Y-yeah, it was,” you agreed, leaning back to your spot. The duet seemed to drain you of energy and while you two continued making snarky commentary throughout the film, exhaustion was telling you over and over again to get some rest. _I can’t just leave,_ you tried to tell youself. _If I leave he’ll think it’s because of what happened during “A Whole New World” and I don’t want him thinking anything about that. I’ll just have to stay and stick this out . . . I’ll just rest my eyes for a bit. Just a few seconds,_ you yawned, leaning back into the couch cushions and shutting your eyes. 

“You know, this movie is a lot longer than I remembered,” Bertolt said, eyes fixed on the TV screen. “Not that that’s a bad thing. I guess it just went faster when I was a kid because - what?!” He jumped as your body fell onto his. At first he wondered if you were just playing around but when he looked down at your face he saw you were completely out. _It’s only three am, it’s not that late,_ he thought. _Should I wake her up? I mean, she’ll probably be freaked out when she wakes up. But then again, if she’s falling asleep so early she’s probably tired and needs sleep. I’ll just let her lie there until the movie ends._

Although you looked like you were in an uncomfortable position, you slept soundly and he liked the feeling of you sprawled out over his lap, your warmth seeping into his skin. His fingers absentmindedly curled and twisted around your hair as he watched _Aladdin_ by himself. The few times he’d caught himself doing it he had stopped, but eventually his mind would wander and he’d start playing with your hair again. _What if she doesn’t wake up by the time this ends,_ he wondered. _Do I wake her up? Can I even carry her up the stairs? It’s a flight but it’s so tight. I don’t want to accidentally hurt her while trying to get her back up to her room._

The front door and Reiner walked in. Bertolt gave him a silent wave. Reiner’s gold eyes surveyed you and him, a strange look on his face. He said nothing though and retreated into his bedroom in the basement. _Wait, I needed to ask for your advice!_ Bertolt silently called after him. _Damn. I’m on my own with this. Maybe it’s better that way. I don’t want him getting credit for something I do._ You still looked like you were fast asleep and the last of the credits had rolled; now just to get you up the staircase and into your bedroom. 

Carefully, he sat you back up onto the sofa. One of his arms slipped behind your back, the other under your knees and he lifted you up. He walked up the stairs slowly, with every step his heart seeming to beat harder. Your bedroom door was (thankfully) open and it was fairly easy to get you into bed. He laid you down gently, making sure your hair didn’t get caught behind your back. Grabbing a blanket from the end of the bed, he laid it over you and paused. You looked adorable, a small grin on your face. 

“[First]?” he asked quietly. No response. _I wonder what she’s thinking about,_ he wondered. _Is she thinking about earlier? No, she wouldn’t be thinking about that. At least, I don’t think she would._ Unbeknownst to you, he’d felt the tension in the air during your duet. If he had guts, he would have kissed you then. _But I didn’t,_ he thought with a twinge of regret. _No, I can’t feel bad about not doing it. I don’t know if she likes me or not. I can’t just assume things._ He could just imagine how your lips would feel against him; he could practically feel it now, the sweet warmth and the delicious softness. _Would it be bad if I stole a kiss?_

_Of course it would be bad!_ his conscious yelled at him. _You can’t just kiss people while they’re asleep! There’s no consent. If you want to kiss her, you have to wake her up._

_But what if I kissed her forehead? That’s not bad, right, he thought. It’s not invasive. It’d be the best kind of kiss given the circumstances._ He leaned down and gave your forehead a tiny peck. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, yet as he went up the staircase to his bedroom, a small twinge of guilt and regret. Part of him wished he’d just been brave enough to wake you up and outright ask for a proper kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

It almost felt like a dream. The sensation of arms under your body and the weightless pull of being lifted had roused you enough to have a vague idea of what was going on. But with exhaustion still having a firm grasp on your body, you decided to stay still. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Bertolt was carrying you, presumably to your bedroom. Your conscious told you that you should have let him know you were awake and could walk to bed on your own, you ignored it and let him do the work. You were tired and walking up the stairs was too much work.

And now you were lying in bed, still trying to process what had just happened. Still trying to process the fact he kissed you and now where his lips had been was a strong tingling warmth. _Oh my God. He kissed me. HE KISSED ME!_ Grabbing your pillow, you let out a few joyful squeals into it. _I can’t believe it!_ You rolled onto your back, looking up at your ceiling as the excitement died down and was replaced with other thoughts. _Does this mean we’re dating now? I mean, we kissed. Sort of. He didn’t know I was awake . . . I guess it doesn’t count. I’d like to date him, but am I really sure he likes me?_

_No, he kissed me. He_ has _to like me. He wouldn’t kiss me if he didn’t have feelings for me. Bertolt isn’t the kind of guy to do stuff like that just to please himself. Maybe he was just testing the waters? But . . . if he was doing that, wouldn’t he have tried that when I was awake? Gah, I don’t know what to think other than I know he likes me. If he’s brave enough to kiss me, he’s got to be brave enough to ask me out. God knows I’m not that brave. But when is he going to ask me out? Do I have to fake being asleep for that to happen? Will he even ask me out? He’s shy and hell, he couldn’t kiss me unless he thought I was sleeping._ You groaned and turned onto your side. So much for the fluffy feelings lasting all night. _Why do romance have to be so fucking complicated?_

  
  


Bertolt was used to Reiner coming home at odd hours of the day. They’d been rooming long enough for Bertolt to get comfortable with the fact Reiner’s schedule was never consistent. Even in high school it had been erratic, what with all of the activities he was involved in. Reiner was always the guy with weird schedules and Bertolt had gotten used to it by now. So when he trudged into their home at eight am, it wasn’t a big surprise to Bertolt, but it did make him nervous; there was an important matter he needed to discuss with Reiner and he realized as his friend walked through the door that he wasn’t ready to talk to him about it. 

“That is the last time I perform at a five am bachelorette party,” he groaned, collapsing at the kitchen table. “Who even has a bachelorette party at five am? Why would you do that to yourself and your bridesmaids? I think they had been up all night and were either completely wasted or had super high sex drives. I am _never_ doing this again.” 

“Are you okay?” Bertolt asked, alarmed. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. They didn’t do anything but they sure as hell talked about it. I just need breakfast and a nap,” Reiner replied as he stood up. Bertolt stared into his mug of coffee, waiting for Reiner to get his breakfast going before he spoke up. _Just get this over with,_ he told himself. _You’ll feel better once you talk this out._

“Can I talk to you about something important?” he asked. Reiner looked up from the toaster. 

“Yeah, sure. What’s up?” he replied. He turned around, leaning against the counter and giving Bertolt his full attention. “Is something wrong?” 

“No. Well, sort of,” Bertolt corrected himself. Be honest. “It’s really starting to bug me how you always flirt with [First].” 

“Bert, we’ve been over this before. She doesn’t mind it -” 

“No, it’s not that. I . . .” Bertolt exhaled slowly before steeling his nerves. “I like [First] and I don’t like that you flirt with her.” He glanced up at Reiner, afraid he came off too possessive or rude. But Reiner didn’t look worried or offended. No, he actually looked _thrilled_ at Bertolt’s words. 

“It’s about time you admitted it,” Reiner smiled. He grabbed his toast and sat down at the table across from his roommate. “I don’t have a problem toning it down at all. Hell, I’ll even stop the flirting.” 

“Thank you. I really appreciate it,” Bertolt told him sincerely, feeling relief seep into his muscles and he relaxed for the first time that morning. 

“So, what are you going to do about it?” 

“Do about what?” 

“Do about your crush. Are you going to ask her out? Are you going to hope it just happens, like with what happened with your last girlfriend?” 

“That didn’t ‘just happen,’ you set us up,” Bertolt reminded him. “And no, I’m not going to let that happen. And I don’t know if I’m going to ask her out. What if she says no? Not only is that going to hurt, but it’ll make our living arrangement awkward and that’s the last thing I want for her.” 

“Oh my God, everyone can see the romantic tension between you two. Just ask her out. I guarantee you she’ll say yes,” Reiner said. 

“You can’t guarantee how someone’s going to react unless it’s yourself. I’ll ask her out when I’m ready. _If_ I’m ever ready. And maybe if she really likes me back, she’ll ask me out and I won’t have to do it.” 

“We both know she’s not going to ask you out. She’s as shy as you are, Bertolt,” Reiner pointed out. 

“You never know. She’ might muster up the courage and do it.” 

“Look, I think you’re lying to yourself about her asking you out. You had enough courage to tell me to back off. You have enough courage to ask her on a date.” 

“Those are two completely different things! I’ve known you for years and we’re talking about something different. I haven’t known her a long time and I’d be asking her something life-changing. I can’t just go into that. I need to find the right moment, I need to make sure she really likes me, I -” 

“You can spend the rest of the day making excuses Bertolt, I don’t care. But you should just go for it. It’s not going to hurt and I get you’re freaked out, but you’ll feel better once you get it over with. It’s like Mako said: It’s like ripping off a bandaid and you shouldn’t drag it out.” 

“You just butchered that _Legend of Korra_ quote. You know that, right?” Bertolt asked him. The blond laughed, rubbing the back on his neck and giving Bertolt an apologetic look. 

“I admit I don’t pay attention when Mako’s on screen. I just thought it’d help you since you speak the most comfortable when you’re speaking nerd.” 

“Thanks, Reiner.” 

“Any time, Bertolt.” 

  
  


“I’m sorry I have to make this so, but I overslept and I have work in half an hour and I just needed to talk to you guys,” you said. You sat in your bedroom on Skype with your friends. They all gazed at you through their webcams, eyes fixated on you. 

“So stop beating around the bush then,” Ymir said, leaning back in her office chair. “What’s going on? Are you pregnant?” 

“YMIR THAT’S RUDE!” Krista shrieked, turning red as if Ymir had asked her that instead of you. 

“No, I’m not pregnant!” you replied indignantly, heat burning your face. 

“Not yet, at least.” 

“Jean, can you not?” Marco demanded, giving him a dark look through his webcam. “We’re wasting [First’s] time. Tell us what’s up before you have to leave.” 

“Thanks,” you told him. You sighed. “So a few nights ago Reiner was out working and Bertolt and I were home alone.” 

“Did you have sex?” 

“Ymir, she’s trying to tell a story!” Marco scolded her. 

“Just mute your mic if you’re going to make rude comments,” Krista told her. 

“Guys shut up, you’re interrupting [First],” Jean told them. They muttered quick apologies and fell silent. 

“So anyway we were home alone and we were watching movies. We were watching _Aladdin_ and I’m saying that specifically because I know Ymir will ask if it was porn and no, it wasn’t. So we were singing along and we got into it and we almost kissed but we both chickened out and Ymir don’t say what I know you want to say. That goes for you too Jean. I fell asleep and he carried me back to my room after the movie ended and he kissed my forehead.” 

“Aw, that’s so cute!” Krista said, cupping her face in her hands. 

“So what’s your problem?” Jean asked. 

“I don’t know what to do!” you exclaimed. “He thinks I was asleep when that happened but I mean, I have proof he might like me but what do I do? Do I wait for him to ask me out? What -” 

“As Shia LaBeouf once said, just do it,” Ymir said. “Just ask him out and then your problem is solved.” 

“As much as I disapprove of Ymir’s use of memes, she’s got a point,” Krista said. “Just ask him out!” 

“I don’t know if I can do that. I mean, what if this ruins our friendship? What if it makes everything awkward?” you pointed out. 

“Look, if you don’t ask him out, I’m doing it for you. I’m tired of hearing all this angst when it can be solved so easily,” Ymir said. You blanched, imagining the scene going down and how awful it would be. 

“You can’t do that Ymir. [First] will make a move when she’s ready. But for the record, I really think you should go for it. Bertolt obviously likes you back. There’s no fear of rejection. You should go ahead and ask him out,” Marco advised. But the faint idea of trying to ask him out just made your skin crawl with nervousness. 

“I-I just don’t know,” you sighed. Your eyes glanced at your clock. “Crap, I’ve gotta head to work. I’ll talk to you guys later tonight and maybe we can figure something out.” 

“Oh my God we already figured it out. JUST FUCKING ASKING HIM OUT!” Ymir cried in exasperation. You gave her a wilted grin. 

“Eh. I’ll talk to you guys later. Bye!” you ended the call and got ready for work. _They have a point. He likes you so you should go for it,_ you told yourself as you grabbed your work apron. 

_But what if it doesn’t work out for us? What if it just makes living together awkward? What if he says no,_ you responded. _I don’t have the courage to ask him out._ The spiral staircase made a dull metallic clang as you walked down to the ground floor. Reiner’s head was already turned towards you when you reached the final step. 

“You got work?” he inquired. 

“Yeah, I’m going to be back around nine tonight,” you told him. “Are you still going to be home then or not?” 

“No, I’ve got a shift and a private party tonight. Bertolt’s already at work but he should be home by then,” Reiner informed you. 

“All right. I’ll see you in the morning, then!” You gave him a short wave before heading out. Reiner immediately jumped up and went down the stairs to his bedroom in the basement. _It’s about time she left,_ he thought, opening up Skype on his computer and quickly forming a group call. _I thought she was never going to leave._

“Reiner, what a surprise. What’s up?” Ymir asked, her voice filling his room. She turned on her webcam and gave him a sly grin. Marco, Jean, and Krista turned theirs on as well, their faces popping up on Reiner’s screen. 

“Sorry this got delayed. I didn’t think [First] would call us so late,” Krista apologized. 

“I know. I thought her shift was earlier but apparently not,” Reiner said. “So what did she say?” 

“She knows Bertolt likes her but let’s face it, she’s not going to ask him out,” Marco reported matter-of-factly. “She’s not the kind of person to do that; she’s too shy.” 

“And Bert’s never going to ask her out either,” Jean said. “Talk about birds of a feather flocking together. If we don’t intervene they’re never going to get together.” 

“So what are we going to do about it?” Ymir asked. 

“We’ll just figure out a way to get them together,” Reiner announced. 

“How are we going to do that? They’re never going to say anything about it,” Krista pointed out. 

“Well, what about acting on it? If they kiss, that’s basically starting a relationship, especially with people like them,” Marco said. 

“So, we’re going to set them up and make sure that somehow they kiss?” Jean inquired. 

“That’s the plan,” Reiner said. “Our job is to plan the most romantic date ever and put them on it. By the time they’re done, they _have_ to kiss and get together.”


	4. Chapter 4

Reiner knew his inconsistent schedules were a pain in the ass to work with when it came to coordinating plans, but right now he was thankful that his lack of structured work time let him be home alone. You and Bertolt were off at work and it was his night off. And a free night meant working with your friends to concoct the most romantic date ever. 

“Okay, so I managed to make reservations at the restaurant,” Marco announced. “It’s this Friday at six o’clock sharp.”

“And Ymir and I already bought the four of us tickets to the amusement park,” Krista reported cheerfully. Reiner grinned at his friends through his webcam.

“Finally! Everything’s come together! And Marco, you made sure she’s not working that night?” he asked.

“Yeah. I double checked and she’s off. This plan is going to go off without a hitch,” he said. 

“It better, what with all of the work we’ve put into this,” Ymir commented. She gave everyone a small but genuine smile. “This is so cliched it  _has_ to work.” 

  
  


“Can’t you pick up your phone for once? Look, Reiner, Bert, Marco, and I were going to have dinner once we men of the twilight get off work . . . Shut up, Reiner! We’re not prostitutes so we’re not men of the night and that’s the best thing I could think of! Sorry, some people don’t appreciate my wit. Anyway, we’re having dinner at a nice restaurant to treat ourselves after midterms and we want you to come with us. Dress nicely. Meet us at the strip club at five-thirty. I’ll see you there. Bye.”

That was the voicemail Jean had left you while you’d driven home from a shopping trip with Krista and Ymir.  _I really hope that doesn’t cut into our time to go the amusement park,_ you thought when you heard it. The girls had asked you to accompany them and since you hadn’t been able to hang out with them lately, you gladly accepted. And you wanted to go to dinner with the guys, but you were worried about being late to meet them at the amusement park. 

But nevertheless, you dressed in a nice black dress and headed towards the strip club. The neon flashing lights looked more appropriate for Las Vegas than they did Trost, but then again you’d heard Reiner say the owners had come from Vegas to set up shop here. So maybe it was a holdover from their previous theatre. Or stage. You weren’t sure what strippers called their performance space. The bouncer let you in without a second glance and you entered the main performance room. 

It was spacious with a lot of seats. It was early in the evening and already loads of women and the occasional man were already taking in the show of a pretty brunet strut around in a thong. 

“[First]!” A grin popped onto your face as you heard Bertolt’s voice call out to you. He made his way across to you from the far back of the club. Clearly Jean and Reiner had given him the nice clothes memo too, because he was dressed in nice pants and a dress shirt.

“Hey! How was your shift?” you asked him, giving him a brief hug.

“Good. Same old same old, you know? Have you seen Reiner or Jean?” he inquired. You shook your head.

“No. They said they’d text me when they’re done and they’d meet us out in the audience,” you said. Bertolt looked down at his watch, furrowing his brow.

“They told me their shift ended fifteen minutes ago. I’m going backstage to see what’s up. Stay here.” He left, going back the way he came and delving into the belly of the beast. You stood around awkwardly, looking everywhere but the stage.  _I can’t believe the guys work here,_ you thought.  _Wouldn’t this be a terrible kind of place to work? I couldn’t stand getting objectified like this. But I guess if they’re here willingly, it’s okay. At least it’s probably better here than that club in_ Magic Mike.  _Man, that movie was fucked up and boring as hell._ He’d only been gone for a few minutes and already Bertolt was striding towards you again, a slightly sour look on his face.  _Oh no, did something happen?_

“They’re not coming,” he reported.

_“What?!_ What do you mean, they’re not coming?!” you demanded.

“They have to cover for guys who called in sick and they’re going to be here all night.” He sighed, glaring at the floor. “Of all the nights to do this.” 

“So, what do you want to do? Do you still want to go to dinner, or what?” you asked.

“We can’t let Marco down. Not to mention that restaurant is hard to get reservations for,” he commented.

“It’s Cheesecake Factory. It’s not that hard.”

“It’s still fancy and expensive.”

“Fair point. Call Marco and let him know what’s going on. I’ll drive us over there.”

Getting a dinner reservation at the height of the dinner rush was a fantastic idea. The small waiting area was packed to the gills with people as they waited for tables, buzzers clutched in their hands as they talked with family, friends, dates. You couldn’t help but feel a faint hint of haughty pride as you passed the crowd and were led to your table. Marco was already sitting down when you two arrived. He gave you a friendly wave and an apologetic look.

“That sucks about Reiner and Jean,” he said as the two of you sat down opposite him. 

“I know. I was really looking forward to having dinner with all of you guys,” Bertolt said. “We haven’t had a fancy meal together in ages.”

“Maybe next time we’ll get lucky,” you shrugged, fingers dragging a menu towards you. “So what’re you guys getting?”

“I think we should just get appetizers and share amongst ourselves,” Marco suggested. 

“That sounds pretty good. I think Ymir, Krista, and I are going to have a lot of food later anyway. We’re going to the amusement park after this,” you told him. A quiet ding sounded from your phone. You pulled it out and glanced at the notification. “And speak of the devil, Krista just texted me.”

“What’d she say?” Bertolt asked as you opened the message.

“‘I hope you’re excited for tonight! What are you up to right now, smiley face,’” you read aloud. “‘Just having dinner with Bertolt and Marco,’” you spoke as you typed a response.

“Because Reiner and Jean are lame,” Marco finished your sentence. You laughed, playfully hitting his arm.

“That’s horrible!” you giggled.

“But true,” Marco grinned. Your phone went off again and you went straight to your texts.

“Krista says, ‘that sounds great! Ask them if they want to come to the amusement park with us, smiley face. We have an extra ticket,’” you read.

“I’d love too but I already have plans to sleep over at my friend Connie’s tonight,” Marco replied. 

“I don’t know. I don’t want to intrude on you three spending time together,” Bertolt said hesitantly.

“Oh, come on, Bert! You really want [First] to be third wheeling by herself on their date?” Marco asked him. 

“Of course not! I, well, yeah, you’re right. She’s third-wheeling and I really like the park. Tell Krista I’m in,” Bertolt told you. 

“You got it.” You sent Krista the details as Marco flashed Bertolt a smug, victorious grin. But the smile slid off his face in seconds as he flinched, pulling his phone out his pocket. “Wait, what?” He unlocked his phone, springing to his feet and hurrying away. You heard him say something about Mikasa before he got out of earshot.

“Who’s Mikasa?” you asked Bertolt, turning in your chair so you could face him. 

“She’s a friend of Marco and Jean’s. I don’t know why she’d be calling. She and her brother Levi are at the other side of the country right now,” he shrugged. 

“Do your friends just have a knack for going off to faraway places? I mean them and then Annie,” you said, making him laugh.

“I guess. Annie left for education purposes and Mikasa needed to find herself.”

“Why, did something bad happen to her?” you asked concernedly. Bertolt sighed and stared into his glass of water, a somber expression on his face.  Shit, did I say something wrong?

“She was in love with our friend Eren and well, it didn’t work out. She decided to leave to learn to focus on herself and not others. She devoted everything to him and she just needs to hammer it into her head to put herself first and not others.” 

“Oh. That sounds like that was hard for her to do,” you commented. _What if I end up like Mikasa?_ The thought hit you like a ton of bricks. _What if I confess and he turns me down? Will I end up leaving to find myself? Would it be that bad to lead to something that life-changing?_

“Yeah. I hope she just starts to learn to love herself. You would like her. She’s really a phenomenal girl.” He paused. “She kind of reminds me of a past girlfriend. Not that I would ever date Mikasa,” he added hurriedly. “She’s amazing but she deserves someone better.” 

“I don’t know, I think anyone would be lucky to have you as a boyfriend,” you confessed softly. His blush deepened.

“You really think so?” If he hadn’t been sitting next to you, you would’ve missed his response.

“I do,” you replied. Pausing, you decided to change the subject; you hadn’t forgotten his earlier comment. “Feel free to ignore my question, but how does Mikasa remind you of your ex?” His face visibly fell and you opened your mouth to tell him it was okay and that you’d drop it, but he cut you off.

“She was very caring like Mikasa. Really selfless to the point it was a flaw and not a positive trait. But then again, I was too at that time. Reiner set us up on a date in high school and we dated because we felt like we owed it to each other,” he confided in you. “We were kids and we thought we were doing each other a favor and making each other happy by dating. She and I were friendly but we weren’t  really friends and it only lasted two months. We broke up because it was clear we weren’t making each other happy and we didn’t like each other like that and she said she was too tired to be trying to make people happy anymore.”

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” you breathed. “That’s absolutely horrible.” Bertolt gave a short nod, still avoiding your eyes. 

“Yeah, it was. We severed ties and I haven’t dated anyone since,” he replied.  _What do I say? Do I say sorry? Do I say something flirty? Would that be inappropriate?_ Bertolt took a drink of water, dark green eyes flitting towards you. “I didn’t get to say this earlier, but you look really nice tonight.”

“Oh.” It was your turn to blush. “Thank you. You’re looking pretty snazzy yourself.” 

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Marco was back at the table, slipping back into his chair.

“No, no, you’re not!” you insisted. 

“Really? Because I can leave you two alone for a little bit if you want,” he offered.

“It’s fine! We’re all good,” Bertolt defended you two. 

“All right then, I’ll just stay here and be a third wheel myself,” Marco replied, grabbing his water and taking a sip. While he had his eyes averted, you gave Bertolt an embarrassed grin that he mirrored. 

  
  


Dinner was delicious and by the time you and Bertolt got into your car to meet up with Ymir and Krista, your stomachs were beyond full and it hurt to breathe, let alone move.

“Never let me eat that much again,” Bertolt whined as you pulled into the crowded parking lot. You gave him a sympathetic groan.

“Only if you do the same for me,” you replied. He chuckled, nodding.

“I promise.” With a lot of moans and grunting, you got out of the car and headed towards the entrance. Ymir and Krista were already there, looking adorable in matching sweatshirts and scanning the crowd for you two. Krista’s face lit up as she saw you and she waved you over. 

“How was dinner?” Ymir asked, doling out yours and Bertolt’s tickets.

“I’m about to go into a food coma but it was good,” you informed her. She smirked. 

“Sounds like it. So I heard Mikasa called Marco in the middle of it?” As you went through the entry line, Bertolt filled her in on all of the details Marco had told you two during dinner. 

It was bustling with people and the lights shone brightly in the dark. Children were crying out with joy, cheery music played softly in the background, and the succulent scent of popcorn and fried desserts wafted through the cool autumn air. Ymir and Krista held hands as they walked around and a pang of loneliness tugged at your heart.  _If only I could hold hands with him,_ you thought wistfully as you sneaked a glance at Bertolt.  _Would he even be okay with it? He sounded kinda down during dinner._

“So where are we going first?” you asked everyone. Ymir looked over at you and flashed you a devilish grin.

“I want to go on the haunted house ride. I need scared cuddles from Krista,” she said. _The haunted house ride? Is it scary? Is Bertl going to be able to handle it? Am_ I _going to handle it?_ You looked over at him and were surprised to see he looked very calm and collected, albeit confused. 

“Really? Horror Castle?” he questioned. 

“Yeah.”

“All right. I’ll lead the way,” he shrugged.  _Is he just putting on a brave face for us? Or is he really not scared?_

“I’m not sure if I wanna go on this ride,” you piped up. 

“Seriously? Don’t be a pussy.” Ymir gave you a withering look and your face lit up with embarrassment.

“If she doesn’t want to ride it, she doesn’t have to,” Bertolt defended you. 

“No, I’ll ride it,” you caved.  _I can’t let him go on this without any kind of support._

“Are you sure? I don’t mind -”

“No, I’ll do this.”  I’ll be fine as long as I got Bertolt with me. If he can be calm about this, I can too.

  
  


The outside of the ride looked like something out of a low-budget horror movie, the castle looking very fake and like the architects were trying too hard. The stones were chintzy and the blood splattered stained-glass windows were obviously painted on. But none the less you felt a slight stirring in your stomach; you’d never been on this ride and sometimes the simplest facades held the scariest things. Look at haunted houses; some of the scariest ones in the country were held in simple warehouses. The fear of not knowing what to expect was high, and when the four of you walked straight on without giving you any time to relax and think things through, you went from faking fear to get Bertolt out of riding it to actually feeling apprehensive about this. You got into the ride vehicle with Bertolt, climbing in after he settled in.  _At least I don’t have to ride with Ymir and Krista. Talk about being a third wheel. And Ymir would make fun of me if she found out I was scared._ The lap bar came down, trapping you two in the the seat. The door to the castle opened and the vehicle turned before started its descent. The initial hallway was pitch black and silent as you descended into the ride backwards. Your body tensed as you strained to see into the darkness, senses heightened and on the look out for anything scary.

“Are you okay?” Bertolt asked.

“I . . . no, I’m not. I’m kind of freaked out,” you admitted. 

“It’s not scary, I promise,” he said. “But if there’s anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable, let me know.” Truthfully, having some kind of physical contact probably would be enough to soothe your mind. But before you could suggest him putting his arm around your shoulders, the vehicle jerked to the side and slid down a dimly lit corridor. Portraits lined the wall, sharply changing as they passed you from normal pictures to creepy ones. Well, they’d be creepy if they didn’t look so cheap.   

“Wait, are those changing portraits the kind you get at the fucking  _dollar store?!”_ you demanded, eliciting a laugh from Bertolt. 

“I told you it wasn’t scary,” he said. “Just wait until we get further in.” The lighting went out and when it came back on, the first thing you saw was row upon row of wine casks, all dripping blood from their spouts. 

“Wow this is a really bad winery,” you said in a deadpan.

“I don’t think this is a winery, to be honest,” Bertolt laughed, making you chuckle even harder. The set when from a wine cellar to a tavern, skeletons sitting at tables and rats everywhere, green LED eyes shining unrealistically in the dark room. “This is the worst  _Ratatouille_ rip-off I’ve ever seen.” 

“Jesus Christ Bertl I’m going to cry,” you laughed, an ache creeping into your abs. “This isn’t just a bad knock-off this is such a health hazard. I . . . OH MY GOD THE RATS ARE ACTUALLY IN THE KITCHEN THIS  _IS_ A  _RATATOUILLE_ KNOCK-OFF!”

The rest of the ride was more hysterically awful than you could have imagined and by the time you reached the last set you and Bertolt were doubled over, tears running down your faces from laughing so hard. 

“What the fuck why is there a random velociraptor on this ride?!” you laughed, pointing at the dinosaur while an audio track that was clearly ripped from  _Jurassic Park_ accompanied it. “You can’t just mix genres like that!”

“I guess they spared no expense in making a scary ride,” Bertolt joked, making you double over with laughter.

“‘Spared no expense!’ I can’t breathe!” you cried, choking for air as you laughed. You sat back up and leaned towards him, arms brushing with his. Like it was instinct he leaned in towards you, the two of you leaning on each other and laughing hysterically. The ride turned a corner and the doors opened to reveal the outside world. The lap bar released its grip and you both stumbled out, clutching onto each other and laughing. 

“I’ve never had that much fun on that ride,” he choked. You inhaled deeply, trying to steady yourself and stop the laughing.

“Oh my God. That has got to be the best and worst horror ride I’ve ever been on,” you said, wiping the tears from your eyes. The door to the ride’s exit opened again and Ymir and Krista got out of their vehicle.

“Well, that was underwhelming,” Ymir commented as she and Krista joined you two. “Did I hear you two laughing at one point?”

“That ride was shitty, of course we had to laugh at it,” you replied. Ymir sighed and rolled her eyes. “Come on, don’t be a sour puss just because you probably didn’t get any scared cuddles.” 

“Let’s go on something thrilling. Let’s go on the big roller coaster,” she suggested, ignoring your comment. “Bertolt, lead the way.” He said nothing and lead the three of you all the way across the park and the largest roller coaster you’d ever seen.  _Oh, this is going to be a fun ride,_ you thought, grinning as you all got in line. 

The line went fairly fast and before you knew it you were in the vehicle, trying pulling the shoulder bars over your head.  _Is it just hard to pull or do I have no arm muscles?_ you wondered, trying to secure it over you. Bertolt’s hand gripped the harness and pulled it down over you. 

“Thanks,” you told him.

“I can’t have you falling out, can I?” He flashed you a grin while you rolled your eyes, hitting his thigh. 

“Not funny, Bertolt.” The vehicle pulled away from the loading area and down the track, riding above the water of the nearby lagoon. The lights of the park were laid out in front of you as the vehicle came to a stop. The bright gold pinpricks shone like stars against the dark night. The ferris wheel sparkled with its rainbow-colored lights. And without warning the ride shot forward, zooming over the water and rocketing up the track onto the first hill. You screamed, throwing your hands into the air. The chilly air rushed by you, grabbing and pulling on tendrils of hair as you rocketed through it. Lights became blurs you were going so fast. You were twisting around tight curves and traveling steep hills. Screaming and the ride’s rock n roll soundtrack filled the air, along with a few bursts of joyous laughter. 

You came along a curve and straight ahead lay the one loop on the ride. Your hands shot down to the handgrips on your harness, bracing yourself. Eyes dead ahead, you focused on the loop. Fingertips brushed against your wrist, trying to slide into your palm. You felt butterflies working up a storm in your stomach as you glanced at Bertolt. His eyes were focused on the loop, hand trying to entwine with yours. You let go of the handgrip and let his hand slide into yours. It felt good to squeeze something as you dipped into the loop, rushing down before curving up and feeling a sense of weightlessness before settling back into your seat as you became rightside up. 

Bertolt didn’t let go of your hand and you didn’t let go of his. He was so warm and his skin was so soft, albeit his fingers were a bit bony, but it felt right to hold his hand.  _Maybe I should go for it. Maybe I should ask him out,_ you thought as you went into the final curves and hills of the ride.  _This feels like this is how things should be. Us holding hands and riding things together. I just need to read into him more and make sure he’s ready for this. I don’t want us to end up like his first relationship. Or me end up going off to find myself and recover._

The ride pulled back into the loading station and the shoulder harness unlocked. Bertolt let go of your hand and you both pushed your harnesses up and got off the ride.

“Oh my God, that was incredible!” you said, trying to cheer yourself up and tugging on Bertolt’s arm as you got off the ride and headed back into the fray of the park.

“Yeah! Maybe we should go on it again before we leave,” he suggested.

“I’m so down for that,” you replied. A loud groan from Ymir cut into your conversation. She gave you two an exasperated look. 

“These rides aren’t doing shit,” she complained, kicking at the ground. 

“You have to admit, that roller coaster was really fun,” Krista said quietly. Ymir ignored her. 

“Let’s go on the ferris wheel,” she said. Bertolt immediately froze up, giving Ymir an incredulous look. 

“Why?” he demanded. 

“Because it’s fun, why else?” she retorted. “It’ll be fun and we can get some good pictures of the park from up there. You’re not a kid anymore Bertl, it’s time to get over what happened in eighth grade.” Bertolt remained stiff, giving Ymir a less than warm look and you tried to think of ways to get him out of this mess. 

“Come on guys, do we really have to go on the ferris wheel? Can’t we do that later tonight? We should get the good rides in first,” you argued.

“The ferris wheel is fucking rad and we’re going on it, all four of us,” Ymir said. 

“We can’t fit into one gondola. They’re only for two people,” Bertolt pointed out.

“No, they changed it. It’s for four now. I mean, when was the last time you rode it?” she asked. He pursed his lips and said nothing, only heading off in the direction of the wheel. You hurried up to meet him, grabbing onto his arm.

“Hey, if you don’t want to ride this -”

“And have Ymir on my back for the rest of the night because I chickened out? I’d rather go through ten minutes of hell,” he cut you off. He softened his gaze as he glanced at you. “And at least I’ll have you there.”  _Stop being so cute!_ You gave him a warm smile and continued walking with him.

Unsurprisingly, the line for the ride was dead; apparently everyone else thought the ride was overrated too. Both lines were short, and in line for a swinging gondola you and your friends spent less than five minutes waiting and Ymir spent all of it talking with one of the conductors while Krista told you and Bertolt about her plans for the next semester. The ferris wheel came to a stop and the previous riders got off before the conductors opened the gates and let you into the loading area. 

“Right this way,” the conductor who Ymir had chatted up said, motioning for you all to follow her down to the very last gondola near the exit. The rest of the riders got on the newly vacated cars and you could feel nerves bite at your stomach.  _Relax, it’s not going to be bad. You have your friends and Bertolt. It will be fine._ Bertolt was the first to go into the gondola. You followed him in, choosing the seat next to him. The last thing you wanted to do was split up Ymir and Krista. But they didn’t follow you in. They took off into the exit, waving goodbye as the gondola doors shut and the ride started up. 

“YMIR THIS ISN’T FUNNY!” you screamed at her, turning back in your seat to yell at her. She laughed harder and made a heart with her hands. If children weren’t around, you’d flip her off. “I can’t believe she’d do this! What the fuck is wrong with her?!” But before he could respond, the gondola swung backwards as it traveled on its short track. You screamed, arms immediately latching onto Bertolt and vice versa. You both swung violently as the gondola found a resting place and it wasn’t going to rest fast enough, especially since the wheel was still travelling upwards.

“This was the worst idea ever. I’m never forgiving Ymir for this,” Bertolt said, squeezing you hard. In any other situation, you would love to be cuddling with him like this. Except you weren’t at home, snuggling under a warm blanket and watching Disney movies. You were riding the Ferris Wheel From Hell and clinging to him for some kind of comfort. 

The ride came to a stop and the swinging slowly subsided, but your grip on each other still remained tight. You could feel his body heave ever so slightly as you stayed nestled under his arms. Sneaking a peek outside the window, you could see the amusement park and Trost laid out below you, thousands upon thousands of glittering lights laying on the dark ground. 

“At least it’s smooth sailing from here. We’re halfway done with the ride,” you pointed out. Someone had to be the optimist. 

“Yeah. And at least it’s a nice view,” he said, his grip relaxing slightly. Despite the fact this was literally the worst ride ever, some of it seemed romantic. Holding each other as lights filtered into the gondola, bathing everything in rich colored and golden light. Maybe lights just gave everything a romantic feel, an optimistic feel. With Bertolt there were so many things to consider about asking him out, but up here with everything below you and the warm lights changing the atmosphere, everything seemed so trivial, so small. And that was enough to give you the tiniest little push. 

“Bertolt, have you ever thought about dating someone after what happened with your ex?” you asked him quietly. He said nothing, staying quiet for a long time, looking deep in thought. 

“I’ve thought about it a lot, actually,” he replied after a while, just as quiet as you had been. “But it’s only been a recent thing.”

“Only recently?” You decided to push further.

“After my first relationship, and even during, it I didn’t find anyone that made me think about being with them and committing. But recently, I-I . . . I’ve found someone that I’d like to date and commit to,” he stammered. His body was tense and his heart was beating faster than you thought possible. And although anxiousness was building in your stomach, in that moment you shoved your nerves aside, edging into a spot of bravery to speak up.

“Are you talking about me?” you asked. He slumped his shoulders, looking almost defeated as your words sunk in. He shot you an apologetic look. 

“Have I been that obvious?” 

“No! No, I . . . I’ve known for a while. I was awake when you kissed me.”

“I am  _so_ sorry, I -”

“It’s okay, Bertl. I didn’t mind it at all. In fact, I really enjoyed it.” You paused, looking up at him. It was now or never and you knew any risk you were running would be worth it in the end. “And I’d really enjoying being your girlfriend if you wanted to start dating.”

“Really?”

“Really.” You gave him a warm smile and as elation flooded your mind, you leaned up and gave him a small peck on the lips. “Once we get off this ride, let’s go yell at Ymir for bullying us onto this ride and then go get a churro to start our first real date,” you suggested. He smiled and kissed your forehead.

“That sounds fantastic.” 

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was such a fun thing to write and I'm so glad I was commissioned to write this! Probably one of my fave things was writing the amusement park sequences so here are some personal notes
> 
> 1) In 8th grade for our class trip we went to the Boardwalk and my friend Scott dragged me into the worst haunted house ride ever. So I thought it'd be a good reference point to draw on but when I looked up ridethroughs to jog my memory, I found out that the ride changed soon after I went on it and they made it worse. So here's the video I based the haunted house on (it's hysterical 10/10 would watch again) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJzHetJ4dXY
> 
> 2) I based the roller coaster on one of my fave rides of all time, California Screamin'. Here's a ridethrough of that (and if you ever go to Disneyland I def. recommend trying it!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddDhHPh3iX4
> 
> 3) I am absolutely terrified of ferris wheels. I've only been on one and that was the same trip I went to the horrible haunted house. Scott also dragged me on it and 0/10 would ferris again. I used Mickey's Fun Wheel and several different videos of it as my references, but I've actually never been on it because rides near water scare me and I hate ferris wheels. It is a very pretty ride though.


End file.
